Staff Shortages Solved With DAMA

Many local businesses are struggling to find staff or operating understaffed - one Airlie Beach cafe even had a sign up saying ‘sorry we’re shut, no chef’.

In an effort to help, the Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) is working to establish a new approach to solving staff shortages.

This innovative government scheme called a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) would allow lower skilled overseas workers to come to live and work in the Whitsunday, Mackay and Isaac Regions.

The DAMA gives overseas workers the opportunity to pursue permanent residency through a five-year program which includes training at TAFE while working full-time and contributing to ease the strain on local small business.

Gus Walsgott from WCCC said that there are currently DAMAs in operation in both Townsville and Cairns which is effectively “sucking the workforce” out of the Whitsundays.

“We are at a competitive disadvantage at the moment,” said Mr Walsgott.

“The DAMA is set-up purely for the benefit of the business community as a whole and it will have flow-on effects for the rest of the region.”

The reason our region currently does not have a DAMA is because we had previously been without a Designated Area Representative (DAR), but now that the WCCC have stepped forward, we can expect to become a classified DAMA within the next six months.

This classification will open up many doors for our region and Martin O’Dee from Speedy Global, discussed the advantages at an information night for local businesses last week.

“It’s all about helping people with their life journey,” he said.

“It’s not just about bringing a work force – it’s about providing a system that means people will want to stay, contribute to our communities, raise families and build lives in the region.”

In order to become a DAMA, the WCCC need to gather 100 completed surveys from local businesses.

The surveys take four minutes to complete, and they are an opportunity for businesses to put forward the type of position they are lacking.

There are limited types of roles that will be included under the DAMA so if you want a certain position filled, make sure you fill in a survey so that the specific role is covered.

“We are the vehicle to get us to the end game, but there needs to be a lot of momentum to get us there,” said Mr Walsgott.

“It needs to be driven by the business community.”

There are strict criteria for qualifying for an overseas worker, most importantly that the role has been offered to Australians looking for employment and that it cannot be filled by an Australian first.

If you would like to receive the information pack, please email admin@whitsundaycoastchamber.com.au.

To complete the survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L8JTZCC

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Becoming a Designated Area Migration Agreement will open the doors for overseas workers to ease the strain on workforce shortages. Stock image

Gus Walsgott from Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce. Photo supplied

Martin O’Dee from Speedy Global. Photo supplied